A Time to Fly
by Kitty-kraze
Summary: This is a sequel to Jacked Up but you don't have to read it first or anything. Ponyboy is going off to college but can his brothers let him learn how to fly on his own? This one's pretty short, two or three chapters...:). I don't own anything except my OC, Cody. :). Imagine that! :P
1. Chapter 1

**A Time to Fly**

_**Chapter 1: **__**A/N:**__ This is the sequel to Jacked Up but you don't necessarily have to read it to understand. Please R&R! I love to hear from you guys! Thanks!_

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Ponyboy's POV:

My stomach is beginning flip and it's only five in the morning. My bag is packed and half of the room is bare. Sodapop's sleeping like a baby but I can't sleep anymore. I wiggle out of bed, careful not to disturb my brother. My one pair of clothes I left out sit dauntingly on my desk, next to my small suitcase. I take the white shirt and jeans into the bathroom while I take a quick shower and fix my hair. I feel sick to my stomach. I'm excited but I'm very, very nervous. My hair is still slightly damp when the bathroom door is pushed open. I jump just as I see that it's Darry.

"Hey Pone, you're up early kiddo." He says.

"Hi, yeah, I just couldn't sleep very well." I reply.

"You're goin' to be fine, sweetie." Darry says hugging me for a second.

"Yeah I know."

Darry smiles at me and says he'll meet me in the kitchen for an early breakfast. I take a deep breath and finish up in the bathroom before heading out to the kitchen. We sit down and eat cereal and eggs. Darry keeps staring at me the whole time I'm eating. I feel like I'm on trial.

"What?" I finally ask.

"Nothing. You're just, growing up so fast. Just yesterday you were a little kid crawling around in diapers." He answer.

"Darry, I'm eighteen. I'm not a little kid."

"I know. I just don't want to believe it, Pone." He says smiling sadly.

The rest of the time, we eat in silence. The sun starts to rise and I just have to get out of the house. I sit on the porch railing looking out at the pale pink-orange late August sky. Darry comes out a few minutes later and sits next to me. I start to shiver, a bit from the cold and nerves. I give a half-smile to Darry and focus on the beautiful painting of the world in front of me. My ride should be here in about an hour. Six thirty is when Cody is coming and picking me up. We're both going to the same college except I'm a freshmen and he's a sophomore. I met him at college orientation and he only lives a half hour from my house and passes right through this section of the town. He's not really a Greaser but he's not a full blown Soc either. He's a nice guy and knows his way around campus. My classes start next week and I'm real nervous.

"Darry, what if I fail a class?" I ask quietly.

"Hey, it's okay. Don't worry about it, kiddo. Just do the best you can. I know you'll be just fine just don't get into any fights."

I sigh and fidget some more. I hear a small racket in the house and a bit of yelling. Well, Soda's up I guess. I've moved my suitcase to the front door so when Cody comes I can just grab-'n-go.

"Pony! Pony! Pony!" Soda yells in rapid-fire mode. "Pony!" he screams again racing for the front door.

Darry sighs and opens the front door to step back inside and stop Soda before he caused a neighborhood panic. I hear them mumbling by the door before Sodapop steps out onto the porch.

"Hi Pone." He says wiping the panic off his face and sitting next to me while Darry steps back inside. "I uh, thought you might've left already. I didn't see your suitcase in the room. When did you wake up sweetie?"

"About five or so." I reply.

"Your uh, hair, is, different." He notices.

"Huh? Yeah. I thought I'd change it up a bit." I reach up and touch my hair.

I hear a loud car shifting down the street. "Well, that's Cody." I say reaching for my suitcase. Soda starts pulling my suitcase out of my hand. "Soda, let go. Give me my suitcase. Please?"

Darry hears Sodapop whimpering from inside and comes out, peeling his hand off of my suitcase handle. Cody's car comes into sight and I start walking down the porch steps, out to the driveway.

"Ponyboy! No! NO! You can't leave! No Pone!" Soda yells reaching for me, trying to stop me.

Darry is holding Soda back, restraining him from running after me. Cody's car is almost in our driveway and Soda wiggles out of Darry's grip, running and tackling me, nearly to the ground.

"Soda!" I exclaim exasperated.

Darry rushes up and pulls Soda off me. "Sodapop, let him go. Just let him go little buddy. He'll be back. He'll call us. Relax Soda." He murmurs.

"Hi Cody!" I greet walking up to Cody's car.

"Hi there Ponyboy! You excited?" he asks.

"Yeah, sure am. Uh, these are my brothers Darry and Sodapop." I say briefly motioning to my brothers behind me.

Darry steps up and shakes Cody's hand while Soda stands behind me and nods once to my new friend.

"Alright kiddo, have a good time Ponyboy. No drinking, no fighting, no girls until I meet them. Got it?" Darry says going over the rules.

I'm a little embarrassed. Does Darry really have to do this now? We've been over the rules a billon times and I'm quite aware about what I am and what I'm not to do while at college.

"Yeah, I got it Darry. I'll be back for Christmas break in three months." I remind them.

"I don't want you to go!" Soda wails clinging onto Darry for dear life.

I nervously smile at Cody and he doesn't seem to be bothered by Soda's emotional hysterics.

"Ready to roll Ponyboy?" he asks.

"Yeah." I answer, eager to get on the road. I throw my suitcase in the trunk, hug and kiss both Soda and Darry before hopping in the car with Cody. He honks the horn and we pull out of the driveway and onto the road. It's a decent drive but I think it'll be fun. As we drive down the road, I look in the mirror and see Darry's arm around Soda's shoulders both of them waving as they grow smaller and smaller until they're out of sight. I'm real worried about my classes. Not to mention that this is my first time away from home without any that I know really well around me. I guess there's always a time to fly. Goodbye Greasers, hello college.

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_**A/N:**__ So tell me what you think! There will be one more chapter after this one so don't panic. I'm am in a short story type of mood though. __ Anyway, I hope you liked it so far! Please review! Thanks!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:** _**A/N:**__ Hi again! A few more chapters after this one, but it's pretty short. Thanks so much for reading! Please R&R! Thank you!_

Ponyboy's POV:

It's almost time for Christmas break and I'm pretty excited to see the gang again. I really love college though! It's really nice to just be away from home and do things for myself. I'm getting good grades and the classes are really interesting. My roommate is some guy that's always stoned but at least I don't have to spend too much time with him. Cody's supposed to come by later tonight so we can catch up. I really like that kid, he understands me almost as well as Sodapop and Johnny understood me. It's five thirty-five and frankly, I need dinner. My roommate is performing some strange meditating ritual locked in the bathroom closet. Don't worry, he locked himself in there, not me. While laying on my bed, bored out of my mind, I hear a knock on the door. I haul myself out of bed and pray that it's Cody. I peek through the peep hole before opening the door. Believe me, I've had more than my share of crazy boys, and some girls, running through the hall completely naked, knocking on doors and posing for pictures. It's pretty disgusting. It _is_ Cody at the door and he's all packed up to leave in the morning.

"Hey!" I say welcoming him in.

"Hey, how's it goin'?" he asks coming in and plopping his suitcase on the floor near my half-packed on.

"Nothin' much. I'm bored out of my mind!" I say exasperated flinging myself onto my bed.

Cody flops down beside me and we laugh at each other groans about our classes. He knows exactly what I'm going through with the gen-ed classes since he took them all last year.

"So, got any dinner plans?" he ask.

"Nope but I'm starving." I answer.

"Me too. Let's go eat out. I'm sure there's something different 'round here that we haven't eaten at for a while." He says dragging me out of bed.

"Ugh, we should order room service." I moan.

"Yeah Ponyboy, I'll call hotel management and tell them change our sheets while we're eating too." He laughs sarcastically. "C'mon, let's go."

"Alright, I'm comin'" I respond slowly dragging myself out of the dorm door and down the four flights of stairs before hopping into Cody's car. "What are you thinking 'bout?"

"I don't know. We'll figure it out when we see it though." He answers.

"'Course we will!" I say smiling widely.

"You're too much Pony. Way too much." He says laughing at my antics in the front seat.

We find a nice restaurant and order something we've never had before. It's real good and a nice place to dine. We have a glass of wine and head back to the campus swimming pool to work off our meal. It's an indoor pool and nearly eleven o'clock at night when Cody gets this brilliant idea to jump in the outdoor pool. It's fun and a good change but man that water is freezing! We're both shivering and yelling playfully at each other by the time we jump out, our boxers soaked and icy.

"C'mon, we'd better get back to your room before we freeze to death out here." He says throwing his clothes back on, getting them soaking wet too.

I smile and do the same before running full boar back to my room, Cody chasing after me. We're out of breath and shaking by the time I unlock the door and stumble through it. It's past midnight and my roommate's over at a friend's dorm probably smoking dope, drinking and doing things I don't want to think about.

"I'm glad I met you, Ponyboy. You're a great kid." He says once we've changed and laid down on my bed.

"Thanks! I'm glad I met you too, Cody. I'd be so lonely 'round here if I didn't know you." I answer. It's quiet for a few minutes before Cody rolls over, half asleep looking at me.

"It's alright if I crash here tonight, right? We'll leave early tomorrow morning." He mumbles.

"Yeah, yeah that's fine. Do you want the bed tonight? I can sleep in my roommate's bed. I doubt he'll be in anytime soon." I say moving over to the other bed.

"Oh, okay. Thanks man." He says but I'm dead asleep already.

Cody wakes me up in the morning and my roommate isn't back, like I knew he wouldn't be. I pack up the rest of my things that I'll need for Christmas break. I can't believe that first semester is already over! It's crazy! I'm glad I can go home for a break, but I don't really want to leave. What if I'm different and the gang doesn't like me anymore? What if the gang's different and I don't like _them_? Cody and I do our bathroom things and pack up the car. We're on break from the middle of December to the middle of January. It's a long time to be with someone if they don't like you or you don't like them anymore. Cody keeps my mind off of meeting with the gang again. We have a nice and quite hysterical breakfast on the road together. A waitress actually gave me her number and told me to call her. Though he tried, Cody couldn't pick any girl up. He wasn't too upset about it though, he has a girlfriend at home or something like that anyway. It's a long drive and we talk about everything and I mean _everything_. When he pulls into my driveway I'm a bit appalled. The house looks horrible! Shingles are falling off, there's junk scattered everywhere, the paint is peeling off the porch railing, it's a dump!

"Thanks Cody." I say climbing out of his car and pulling my luggage from the trunk.

"Not a problem, Ponyboy. Hey, we should do something over break. My old man probably won't even care that I'm home. Give me a call if you want to do something, okay?" he asks.

"Yeah sure, thanks! See ya 'round then." I say waving good-bye to him as he pulls out and drives to his house.

I take one look at the house and hope that a lot of parties have happened there and they just haven't cleaned up yet. I walk up the warped steps and knock on the door before remembering that Darry always left the door unlocked. The house smells dank and old as I walk inside. The lights are on and I hear playful yelling in back somewhere. I set my luggage on the floor and try to find someone.

"Hello?" I call peeking into the rooms, still not finding anyone.

I finally realize that someone's in Darry's room throwing a fit and it better not be Darry. I poke my head through the door and smile. Sodapop is sitting on the bed facing away from me as Darry is cutting his hair. The golden-blonde tuffs float to the floor as Soda moan like he's being tortured.

"Hello?" I ask quietly.

"Huh? Hey! Ponyboy!" Darry shouts jumping off the bed and rushing towards me, Soda following right behind him.

"Hi!" is all I can say while being slightly strangled by my oldest brother.

"Darry! You're choking him!" Soda yelps as he's watching me gag slightly.

"Oh! Sorry Pone! I missed you kiddo. Did you have fun? Did you get good grades? The classes aren't too hard, are they? Did you make good friends? No girlfriends, right?" he asks hugging and kissing me more gently this time. Soda joins too.

They finally stop and let me go. It's around nine o'clock and I'm exhausted. I really just want to go to bed, but Soda and Darry have called the rest of the gang and before I know it, it's midnight again. Man, I'm wasted. Steve still doesn't like me very much but he is nice for Soda's sake. Two-Bit's a bit more stupid than I remember but he's still Two-Bit and I can't really hate him. Soda and Darry are real smushy about me being home to the point where I almost don't even want to be here. I didn't mind the greeting hugs and kisses because that's normal for me anyway but they keep doing it throughout the whole night and are just staring at me, I'm starting to get uncomfortable.

"Uh, Darry, I'm going to hit the sack. It's been a long day for me and I was out a little later than usual last night, uh packing." I say starting to stand.

"Oh, okay, kiddo. 'Night sweetie." Darry says kissing my cheek and standing up beside me.

"Night Pone, I'll see you in our bedroom in a little while." Soda states, pausing his conversation with Steve. Two-Bit went home about an hour ago so I really had no one to talk to.

"Oh, I was actually going to sleep in my old room tonight, Soda. I don't know if I'll be able to sleep with someone so soon since I've been sleeping on my own for three and a half months. Maybe tomorrow night, if that's alright." I say.

Soda's face drops some but he nods. "Okay. I know what you mean. You just need some time to settle back in. I get it." He states quietly.

Darry shoots me a look of disapproval and I pretend not to see it. I nod and head for the bathroom and then my old room. It's real childish room but the bed is a Twin size and I throw my suitcase on the floor before changing and collapsing into bed. I'm dead asleep in a second but I hear Darry and Soda talking quietly in the hall before I officially drop off. The next few days are awkward. I try to spend time with my brothers and the gang but I do have to some work for my classes and Cody helps me sign up for my second semester courses. He's great. With Darry's permission, I invite Cody over for dinner. I think Darry likes him well enough and he takes me out for a movie and a beer. He buys them since he's twenty but passes for about twenty-five to anyone who doesn't know him. I'm not a big fan of beer so I only drink half of my bottle. It's close to ten o'clock when Cody drops me off again at my house and promises that he'll talk to me later. When I walk through the door, Darry stands up from his chair with a mean look of anger in his eyes. Soda's lying half asleep on the couch and mumbles his 'Hi Pone' to me before falling silent and asleep again. I give a tentative half smile to Darry and try to keep walking to my room.

"Excuse me, young man." He says loudly and obviously not very happy with me.

I turn around to face my fate of the night.

"Why the hell are you home so late? Nine o'clock curfew. Like it's always been! You know that Ponyboy and suddenly you come home from college with this Soc of a kid who's at least twenty years old and you think the rules don't apply to you anymore?! Over." He growls pointing to his knee.

Soda starts to wake from Darry's shouting. I certainly didn't miss this. I'm eighteen and half years old! Almost nineteen and he wants to spank me?! Has he lost his mind?! "No!" I rebuke defiantly.

"What did you just say?" he asks.

"I said no. You are not going to spank me. I've done nothing wrong. I'm eighteen and a half years old and you don't control me anymore!" I shout.

"What's goin' on guys?" Soda asks groggily.

"Nothing. Go to bed Sodapop." Darry says bluntly.

"Do you really have to fight? Can't you just get along with each other for a while?" Soda asks irritated.

"Tell that to your brother Soda. Maybe you can talk some sense into him."

"Pone, what's going on?" Soda asks with a sigh.

"Nothing. Darry is just jealous because Cody's a good friend of mine now and I've been out with him and Darry seems to think that I'm a toddler and need to be spanked for doing absolutely nothing wrong." I explain.

"Ponyboy," Darry warns but I'm not in the mood to listen.

"What do you want Darry?! What do you want me to do around here? Twiddle my thumbs and be bored to death?! This gang just isn't much of a gang anymore. I don't want to fight anymore. I'm not a Greaser anymore. I'm a person, a regular human being who goes to college and has friends that I hang out with without being judged for every little thing I do!" I shout. "I'm sick of it! I'm an adult! I can take care of myself and I don't need you to watch over me anymore!"

"Pony!" Darry shouts pointing to his knee again. "Get over, now."

"Make me." I growl strolling to my bedroom. I still haven't been able to sleep with Soda and I doubt I ever will again.

I hear Soda crying and Darry trying to calm him down. I know he's mad at me, I know I made Soda upset, but I also know that no matter how much they love me, they need to let me go on my own. They can't protect me forever and I have to learn for myself. My time to fly has come and I'm taking off with it. What am I going to do? I have three more weeks here with them and I don't want to stay. Maybe I could stay with Cody for a few days. I know he wouldn't mind and he actually treats me like an adult. Yeah, I'm underage to drink but half a beer every once in a while and wine with a nice dinner isn't going to kill me. I mean, golly, I've been smoking since I was ten. I don't do it too much anymore. I can't run as fast for the college track team when I'm smoking more than two cigarettes a day so I don't. I like late night swims in boxers or just skinny dipping with some friends. We're not stupid about it either like some kids. If we've drank any more than two of any alcoholic beverage, then we aren't allowed to get near the water or anything else that could kill us accidently. It's group rules. And I'm not in a frat or anything, it's just my group of friends. I hope everything is better tomorrow but I really want to go back to college.

_**A/N:**__ Alright a few more chapters to go! I hope you liked it! Please, please, please review, fav and follow! __ Thanks so much!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**_** A/N:**__Hi! I'm so happy with everyone who's been reading this! Thank you so much for all the favs, follows & reviews! They make me very, very happy! Please R&R! P.S. – there will be at least one more chapter after this one__. Thanks again!_

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_Two Years Later:_

Ponyboy's POV:

It's March of my junior year in college. I'll be a senior in three months, essentially. I'm real excited. Cody's graduating in two months and I'm really happy for him. He's just starting dating a girl and she's nice enough. The waitress I met two years ago at that restaurant we ate at on the way home for Christmas break has been dating me ever since. She's a real nice girl. Her name is Isabella and she's as beautiful as her name. Darry hasn't met her yet, that's no accident, but Soda has and he likes her. She's in my grade and most of my classes. She's majoring in photography and I'm majoring in marketing. I've found that I'm very interested in retail and product designs. All my classes are going very well and I'm making better grades than I ever was in school. Cody and his friends are all super nice to me. We go out all the time. We're all really tight. I miss Sodapop sometimes when I have nightmares, which are very rare right now, but Cody has been my roommate since sophomore year thanks to roommate requests and he calms me down every time I have one. Cody's been pouring over his books studying for his finals and I've been pretty bored.

"Hey, do you want to go out for a run?" I ask struggling to unbury myself from the all the books surrounding me.

"Huh? Oh a run? Where?" he asks turning around in his desk chair.

"Um, how 'bout by the river?" I suggest. "We can see if the rest of the gang wants to come with us."

"Sure. I need to get out and the river's the prettiest at sunset. Let's get ready and call the others, tell 'em to meet us out front." He says pulling his tennis shoes on.

I do the same and we drag our friends out of their dorms and outside. We set off jogging, yelling and singing at the top of our lungs. I love this place.

******* #_college life_ *******

_One Year Later:_

Today's the big day. I'm graduating from college. I am so excited to finally get out into the world though I think I'll miss college more than I miss high school (which I don't miss at all). Cody and the few other guys that graduated last year came and so did Soda, Darry, Steve and Two-Bit. I wish Johnny could be sitting beside me. He deserved to have a chance at life, Dally too. I walk across the stage in my cap and gown to receive my diploma. I hear the clapping in front of me and I'm very proud of myself for taking this step. At the end of the ceremony, my family, biological, adoptive and dorm, rushed up to congratulate me and the few other guys in our group that graduated. It's a nice day and we all go out to have some light partying. Sodapop actually has another girlfriend and I still have Isabella. It's been a great day. I have a job in line already and I'm starting in two weeks. Isabella and I are going to live in separate apartments in the same building to give each other some space and get used to being on our own for a little while. I'm really excited.

******* #_big questions answered_ *******

_Six Years Later:_

I'm twenty-seven years old now, married and living in a small house in Minnesota with our three young children. It's a long way from the east side of the Tulsa sub-burbs but that is where I was hired. My five year old daughter, Katrina, is enjoying her finger-painting skills that she must have gotten from her mother while Zoe, our three year old daughter is playing with Isabella's elderly cat, Mr. Fluffy Pants, (renamed that by the children of course, his original name was Sir William Henry IV) and our one and a half year old son Jonathan is napping on the couch. Isabella had to run out to the store and left me in charge of the kids. She works from home and I can sometimes, depending on what my boss has assigned. The children inspire most of my designs and I've continued to write throughout the years. Perhaps I can have one of my novels published when I'm finished.

Tomorrow we are going to drive down to Oklahoma to visit Darry and Sodapop again. We try to go down there at least once a year and we went down three times last year: once for Soda's wedding, once for Darry's engagement and once for Christmas. I'm not quite sure if Darry will ever marry this woman he just doesn't seem the type to tie himself down. He still lives in our old house while Sodapop and his wife Camille have moved out onto a farm in the country, taking in rescue horses and other strays.

The children are excited to see my brothers and their women again but I don't know how they'll take me. I hope Darry isn't too strict on them, not that he ever has been but I can't help but worry a bit and I sure hope Soda isn't too jealous or upset with me. He discovered right before his wedding that neither he nor Camille cannot have children. They're both sterile but like with most things in their life, they have adopted a boy and are trying to adopt another one.

"Katrina, Zoe, come help your Daddy start packing your things so we can see Uncle Darry and Uncle Sodapop tomorrow night." I say softly.

"Yay!" they squeal.

I can't help but smile as little Jonathan is woken up by his noisy sisters.

"Shhhh, you're going to wake your brother up and you know how Mommy gets when Jonathan is woken up." I say smiling and picking both of them up and carrying them to their room.

When Isabella comes through the door, completely exhausted, not to mention carrying Baby #4 for six months, we're all packed and ready to go.

"Hey sweetie." I murmur, kissing her soft lips. "Hey there little one." I say touching her slightly bulging stomach.

"Hey Pony." She kisses me back.

"The kids are all packed up. The girls are taking a nap and Jonathan finished eating a nibble. Oh, Katrina had some trouble with her math homework." I tell her.

She and I homeschool the children right now since we both can work at home. Isabella sighs and I wrap my arms around her.

"C'mon, let's go to bed. You need to rest. I'll take care of everything tonight. Go to sleep. I love you." I encourage, guiding her to our room and kissing her.

"Thank you Ponyboy. I love you too." She says kissing me for a minute or two more before changing into her pajamas. "What?" she asks as she turns around from changing and sees me watching her from making the bed.

"Nothing. I just love to watch you since you're so beautiful." I answer smiling, stroking her body as she crawls into bed.

I desperately want to climb in bed with her but it'll have to wait until the kids are taken care of and settle down for the night. I make dinner while watching the snow drifting down onto the front yard in the darkness. It's a week away from Christmas and even I'm a bit excited. I eat with the children and play with them for an hour or so before it's time for bed. When everyone's settled and Mr. Fluffy Pants has taken his spot to sleep on the sofa pillow, I change and crawl into bed with Isabella. The poor girl is already dead asleep but she subconsciously snuggles into my bare chest, kissing it while I kiss her forehead and hair. We murmur our 'I love you's' and fall asleep holding each other.

Isabella wakes me up when she leaves the bed and hurries into the bathroom connected to our room. I automatically get up right after her and follow close behind. Poor Isabella has been having awful morning sickness lately and I comfort her while she vomits in the toilet for a few minutes. She turns around and clings to my chest. I stoke her back and hair while she cries softly. My chest is wet and shiny from her tears by the time she pulls away from me.

"Hey, hey it's okay, sweetie. It's okay. If you don't want to go today, I'll call Darry and tell him we'll come in a few days. If you don't want to go at all I'll tell him that something came up. C'mon, what's wrong?"

"I – I love you Ponyboy. You are the sweetest, kindest, most loving person I have ever met. You are willing to stay home and not go to Oklahoma to see your brothers that you only see once a year just because I have morning sickness. That is the sweetest thing ever!" She exclaims kissing me, her tongue finding its way into my mouth and mine the same in hers.

Before I know it, my body's gently pushing hers against the wall kissing her luscious lips, neck and shoulders over and over. Her fingers and hands run over my chest, working their way down under my boxer's waistband before wrapping around my neck and stroking my hair kissing me the whole time. We pull away from each other only when we're completely out of breath, gasping for air.

"I'm okay. We can leave today." She says smiling, kissing my chest one more time when I wrap my arms around her.

"Okay. We don't have to stay for more than two or three days." I reassure him.

"I love you." She whispers.

"I love you more." I answer and start to walk towards the bedroom door but stop when I hear her laughter. "What?" I ask turning around to face her.

She points and says, "You might want to put some pants on. The children don't exactly need to see you in your boxers."

I laugh and reach for some sweat pants to pull them on.

"Not that I mind," she laughs.

I kiss her again. "I don't either." I say but pull the pants on anyway opening the door and step out into the hall.

I hear Katrina and Zoe up already and Jonathan starting to cry. Isabella strokes my blonde hair and kisses my neck.

"I'll be out in a little bit."

"Okay, take it easy. I can take care of the kids." I respond, gently closing the door behind me to round the children up for breakfast and diaper changes.

Once the kids are cleaned up and eating and Jonathan is crawling around his large play pen again, Isabella walks into the kitchen dressed and nearly ready to leave.

"Did you handle everything alright?" she asks sliding onto a stool, wrapping her hands around the coffee mug of caramel latte I made for her.

"Yes, they were better than usual." I say smiling and sitting down on the stool across from my wife with my coffee in hand and placing eggs, cereal, and cinnamon buns on the table.

We start eating, our only interruption is from Mr. Fluffy Pants whom we give a very small portion of eggs as well as cat food to. We eat in peace, the children playing with each other. Getting everyone dressed and ready to go proves to be a bit harder but when it's done, the three little ones are in their car seats in the back seat of our car and all the luggage is in the trunk. I help Isabella into the passenger seat and climb into the driver's seat to set off for Oklahoma. We always agree to meet at Darry's house since we all know where it is (obviously, we grew up there).

Fifteen hours later, I pull into my oldest brother's driveway. It's ten o'clock at night and I'm exhausted. You try driving fifteen hours with bathroom and food breaks and tell me how you feel afterwards. Katrina and Zoe are sleeping in their car seats while Jonathan is sleeping in Isabella's arms in the front seat. My wife is even more tired than I am and I can tell that she's not sleeping soundly especially when she wakes up as soon as I disengage the car once we've stopped.

"Are we here?" she asks quietly.

"Yeah. Let me come get Jonathan so you can get out." I say climbing out and walking to the opposite side of the car.

I open the door and gently remove our little boy from my wife's arms and place him on my hip before holding my hand out, helping Isabella out of the car. She unbuckles Katrina and hands her to me and she carries Zoe out. I help her up the steps of the newly remodeled house (it wasn't finished when we came for Christmas last year) and inside. Darry is sitting on the couch with Sodapop and I assume both women have gone to bed when we walk in.

"Hey Ponyboy!" Soda exclaims quietly, jumping up from the chair.

"Hi you guys! How're you doing?" I ask smiling and nodding to my brothers.

"Good, good. Come on in, your rooms are all made up already." Darry says pointing down the hall to where Isabella and I would be sleeping and a smaller room beside it where the children will sleep.

"Thanks. C'mon Isabella, let's put the kids to bed." I say walking to the children's room placing Jonathan in a crib and Katrina in her little bed. My wife follows right behind me and lays Zoe in her designated bed as well. Isabella looks wiped out. I kiss her and tell her I'd go get the luggage from the car.

"Pone you need any help?" Darry asks following me outside into the cold night air.

"Uh, sure. It's not a whole lot but," I trail off.

He grabs a few suitcases while I take the rest inside and to Isabella who is changing the kids. I hug Darry and Soda and they both tell me to go to bed and that we'll all talk in the morning. I agree mostly because I'm exhausted and help Isabella with Zoe who doesn't understand that her pajamas are supposed to go _over_ her head and not wrap around it. Katrina wakes up when I'm changing her, asking about Mr. Fluffy Pants. I tell her the truth. Mike and Katherine are going to come over to feed him and make sure he has a clean litter box every day. I met Mike at work one day and Katherine and Isabella would always go out taking photos together and live only a few minutes from our house. They're always happy to come over and help out with Mr. Fluffy Pants.

I strip down to my boxers before climbing into bed with Isabella. She curls into me like always and I feel more of her warm skin against mine than usual.

"I love you, Ponyboy." She whispers, beginning to make out with me.

"I love you more." I manage to say in-between our kisses.

Even while we're making out and making love to each other, I'm still wondering and worrying about how my brothers will take my children and the news that Isabella is pregnant again. This will hopefully be our last one for a little while. Four will be enough to handle with the oldest being only five. I hope everything will work out alright tomorrow at least. I've never met Darry's fiancé and I only knew Sodapop's wife for five hours before I watched them marry each other. Life is moving so fast. It seems like just yesterday when Cody and I stopped in that restaurant and Isabella handed me her number. Speaking of Cody and the rest of the group, we still talk to each other regularly. Of course our lives are crazy busy but oh so great. If I could go back and start over, I wouldn't change a thing.

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_**A/N:**__ Alright, one more chappy left! Yay! I'm really hoping for a few more reviews though! I know this is only recently published but, I think you can do more. __ Thanks for everything! Please keep all those in Israel, Palestine and Gaza in your prayers. Thanks._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: **_**A/N: **__Hi again! Sorry it's been a few days since my last update. I think this is my last chapter but I have tons more Outsider stories to post on! __ Please R&R! Thanks!_

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Ponyboy's POV:

As the morning sun silently filters through my eldest brother's house, the children begin to wake, hence causing my wife and me to wake and tend to them. We eat a nice breakfast, Isabella and I formally meet Darry's girlfriend and Sodapop's wife and adopted son. It's a very peaceful morning. Soda and I go on playful rants about each other's stupid-ness when we were younger and Darry throws in his two cents now and then. The women chatter quietly on the sofas talking about their daily lives, work, the children, etc. The kids are playing with each other, happy as can be, save Jonathan who wishes to play more freely with his older sisters and Liam, Soda's son who is now three and a half.

"Pone, Isabella, how's it going in Minnesota?" Darry asks when it's quiet for a second.

"Uh, it's good! We're doin' real good. It's a great place to think of designs and sketches and writing." I answer.

"That's good! So have you two settled in with your three little ones, yet?" he asks again.

Isabella looks at me the same time I look at her. I give a small nod. "I'm pregnant again, we're having another baby!" she says excitedly.

The two other women squeal happily and congratulate her while my brothers stare at me open mouthed. I'm grinning though, I can't help it! I'm so excited!

"Uh, that's great you two. I'm really happy for you both." Darry says flatly.

I can tell that he's not _mad_ at me per-say but probably still shocked and maybe even jealous. I mean he's thirty-three years old with a girlfriend who's probably twenty-five years old looking at his two younger brothers both of whom are married with children and Isabella and I are going on kid number four. Now granted, we've been married since I was twenty-two years old so it's been quite a while. I can just tell that he feels left out.

"Thanks Dare." I say smiling, wrapping my arms around him.

He looks a bit surprised at me but hugs me back pulling Soda in with us. When we pull apart, we're all crying. It's just really nice to be with them again.

The rest of the day passes very nicely. Darry, Soda and I are playing with the kids while the ladies drive off to do some "bonding shopping." Apparently, you can bond while you shop. I notice that my brothers are paying more attention to Jonathan and Liam than Katrina and Zoe. After a while, Liam takes one of Zoe's toys that she was playing with while I am in the kitchen. When I walk back in, Zoe is crying and Darry and Soda are just looking helplessly at me.

'_Were they always this bad with girls?'_ I wonder crouching down next to my daughter, asking her what happened.

She tells me and by the end of the explanation, I discover that when Liam took her toy, Darry and Soda didn't do anything about even when she asked for it back and Liam didn't give it to her.

"Darry! Soda! C'mon," I start exasperatedly. "Why didn't you just tell Liam that he needed to give Zoe's toy back to her? It's not that hard!"

"Well, we uh, we thought that it wouldn't be a problem if he borrowed it." Darry states.

"It wouldn't have been if he hadn't taken it out of her hand." I shoot back.

"I'm sorry, Pone. I just don't know how to deal with little girls." Soda answers.

"It's just like how you deal with little boys." I answer.

"No, it's not!" Darry and Soda both say loudly. Darry continues, "With little boys, you can just let them fight and yell until they figure it out. With little girls they start crying and pointing fingers at each other wanting somebody else to solve the problem."

"Well Darry, you certainly didn't let me fight and yell until I figured it out. You yelled at me! Told me not to fight, told me to suck it up and walk away, told me that if I ever did it again you'd send me away, skin me. Or you would just hit me until I realized that I was never to do it again." I yell with anger and hatred in my voice, still remembering that night a long, long time ago when Darry hit me for coming home at two in the morning.

"Pony!" he shouts as I scoop up my children. "Ponyboy!"

I quickly dress my three little ones in their winter clothing before carrying them out of the house, beginning to walk towards the park. I can't believe how sexist they are. What a hypocrite!

"Daddy, where are we going?" a little voice asks.

It startles me and I glance down to find Katrina holding my hand tightly, walking quickly beside me.

I sigh. "I'm going to take you guys to the park, sweetie." I answer. "I know it's a little chilly out here but we won't be long. Daddy just needed some fresh air."

Jonathan is beginning to cry while strapped to my chest. He must be hungry or tired still. Zoe is holding my other hand, her little eyes rimmed red from crying. We continue to walk in silence. I think my girls can sense that I'm angry because they don't ask any more questions. Jonathan snuggles into my chest and falls asleep again. When we reach the park, I'm significantly calmer. I let the girls play for a few minutes before walking back home. My wife still isn't home and Sodapop looks very uncomfortable when I walk through the front door. I immediately take my children to their rooms and strip off their layers, getting them ready for a nap. When that task is completed, I cautiously enter the living room where Darry and Soda are sitting.

Darry stands and opens his mouth to speak but breaks into tears. He throws his arms around me, squeezing my guts out but he never means to hurt me.

"I'm sorry Pone. I'm so, so sorry baby." He chokes out.

I hug my oldest brother back and for the first time in my life, I think that Darry is truly sorry. Soda sits on the couch and smiles a watery smile at both of us. Now that all that air is clear, I think we can start enjoying each other's presence. We vow not to tell our women what just happened since this is strictly between the Curtis brothers. With a clear conscious, I can say that the rest of that night and the next week after that, were very peaceful and full of fun. I did not look forward to the drive home, nor the thought of leaving my brothers for another year but the time comes and we must bid farewell. At least until the next Christmas.

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_**A/N:**__ Thank you so much for reading! This concludes _A Time to Fly_! Please review! As always, I love to know what you're thinking! Thanks again!_


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